1) Keep an emergency pet card/info in your wallet with emergency contact info for your pet. You can buy these cards online (and probably at some pet stores) or even write one up yourself. It should list contact information for the person or persons you’ve designated to take care of your pets in an emergency.

2) Have enough leashes and carriers for your pets. You don’t want to be shopping for these in the event of an emergency. For reptiles, amphibians and fish, you may want to think about a small portable generator for tanks or cages.

3) Ensure your pet is micro-chipped, has an up to date collar ID tag, and is up to date on shots/fleas/worming. The shots are particularly important if you have to evacuate to a place with other animals that aren’t up to date on their shots.

5) Do not leave your pets behind, they cannot fend for themselves. (There may be possible life threatening situations where a human is asked to leave a pet or has to; it’s a controversial topic for animal lovers. I personally would do everything in my power to bring my animal).

6) Staying home? If you stay at home and hunker down during a hurricane or disaster, stock up on pet food, fill up water bottles, get your pet meds filled if necessary so you have enough to get you through a week or so. Also make sure you have crates and leashes just in case you have to get out quickly.

7) Have your plan ready. Think about where you will go if you do have to evacuate suddenly. Look up pet friendly shelters or hotels, or talk to relatives about the possibility of staying with them if you have to leave suddenly and seek shelter. Bringfido.com is a great website with lots of resources for pet friendly places and also some hotels that are pet-friendly during a disaster.

8) Go to volusia.org‘s pet planning page at the following link volusia.org/services/public-protection/emergency-management/before-a-disaster/pet-planning.stml for great information and additional resources on planning for your pet in case of emergency. This is a collaboration of local animal organizations plus the American Red Cross and the Volusia County Emergency Management Division. There is also a link on that page where you can pre-register your pets with the Volusia Animal Preparedness Data Bank which could aid in their return if you’re separated from them.